I am soooooo mad I could scream. Need advice.
His receipt, health record, and health guarantee were supposed to accompany him in the crate when he flew in, but only the health record was there. It wasn't complete, and our vet did some extra things that she said should have been taken care of by the breeder before he arrived. I didn't sweat it. I paid the extra (and did not contact him asking for any money at all). I have been exchanging emails with him since May asking for the receipt and health guarantee. He says, "sending it in the mail now...papers to follow." Well, guess what. STILL NOTHING. Hudson came off the plane scratching, and we chased it for months, treating him every which way you can imagine. Three and a half months later (and hundreds of dollars) I found a flea. Yes, a lone, single flea. Of course I know there had to be more, but he never swarmed with them, and had been checked by three different vets in our clinic. It was a fluke that I found it. I let our breeder know. (He SAID he wanted to help with whatever it was and that it sounded like allergies.) When I let him know that it was fleas all along he said some not so nice things about our vet, and suggested that the vet should reimburse us for all the unnecessary treatments. We are spending nearly five hundred bucks to treat both our dogs for a year for the fleas our new puppy brought into our house....and I never, ever even HINTED at wanted anything back from the breeder. Our vet suggested right away that since the fleas came with the puppy and now both of our dogs need treatment that the breeder ought to pay up. We never even considered asking him to do that. All I want is the paperwork we were promised. It's now been FIVE months since he cashed our cheque and still nothing. I've remained unbelievably civil in our emails (and on the phone) and he oh so nicely says it's on the way, but nothing. So, do I have any recourse? I just want my paperwork. We paid a lot of money for this puppy and I just want a receipt. He charged us for the puppy, for the flight, for a crate (way more than I've seen the same one here, but I wasn't complaining), etc. Is there someone I can contact to register a complaint about this? Am I being ridiculous? Should I not have had a receipt months ago? I get that the registration papers take longer...of course...but a receipt takes thirty seconds. He could scribble it on the back of his grocery list. I especially want the health guarantee. The fleas are annoying, but not a big deal in the scheme of things. But, if he acts like this over fleas, what's going to happen if something really important comes along? And, it's a twenty one hour drive to his kennel, so it's not like I can drop by, sit on his step, and refuse to leave until I have the papers. Can I complain to someone? Is there anything I can do? I don't want to make life miserable for him. All I want is the documentation I'm entitled to, and that has been promised. And I know that this behaviour is not the norm for a breeder, so I'm hoping someone here has some advice. I just sent yet another nicely worded (but hopefully forceful) email to him, but I'm holding out no hope whatsoever that he'll do anything about it. The health guarantee is not posted on his website, so it's not like I can even print that out. He told us what was covered over the phone, so I have scratch notes about it, but that's not going to do me any good whatsoever if a legitimate problem comes up. Advice welcomed. And if I'm the one being unreasonable please let me know. Thanks in advance. Tracie (who is way too mad to even think of going to bed) |
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| Oh Tracie that sounds really annoying, no wonder you are so mad.
First up I would let this breeder know you are mad, write an email with all the things you put in this post and make it very, very clear you are not happy. We have something called the Citizens Advice Bureau here, you can go to them for help on most things for free, they can tell you what you need to do and who to go to. Maybe you have something like that there? Then I would tell this breeder that you plan to complain to -whoever you need to- and that unless the documents arrive within -give them a reasonable time like a week plus postage time- you are going to take action against them on such and such a date. You need to include everything you have put here so that they know exactly what you have been through. Right now they think they are getting away with blaming your vet! I would follow up the email with a phone call every day and make a real pain the the behind of myself, people tend to sort things out if you do that. But that is just me  |
| If your breeder is a member of The Old English Sheepdog & Owners Club of Canada (OESOCC) or The Old English Sheepdog Club of America, you can file a complaint with them. It may be worth writing to the CKC or AKC, depending on what group Hudson is registered with.
If they're not a member of a breed club, perhaps a complaint to their local Better Business Bureau or Chamber of Commerce? You could publicly warn others on this forum against that breeder. That would be most hurtful to their "business".  |
| WRITE TO THE CKC. I waited for over a year for the breeder of my 2nd OES to send me his papers, when I couldn't get any satisfaction I went to the vet that I knew she used and he gave me the record number of the litter ( from the tattoo in his ear) I wrote to the CKC and they informed me that it was a criminal offence and they would get in touch with her. Lo and behold a few months later I received Dudleys papers |
| Well, it sounds like two seperate issues here. As far as the paper work goes I would contact your CKC and file a complaint. If you were told you would have a health guarantee then you should have it. Your cancelled check could be considered a "receipt".
As for the flea....... I'm not sure you can really hold the breeder responsible for that. Your pup could have picked up a flea anywhere, dogs have fleas. If your pup had arrived from the breeder infested with fleas your problems would hae become much more apparent VERY quickly. Fleas mulitply overnight and one flea found several months later is most likely from another source. I treat my dogs for fleas year round despite never seeing a flea in the house. Treating them BEFORE you have a problem is the best way to prevent one. So the money you have spent on flea treatment is actually part of "routine care" and my opinion is that you need to consider it part of "dog ownership". |
| Thanks for the advice. I will wait for a response from my latest email, and then let him know that I'll be contacting the CKC with a complaint if I don't have the receipt and health guarantee within a reasonable amount of time. I have to admit, I think five months is already well past that point, but I guess I'll set a date in another two weeks or so.
I had no intention of going after him for the fleas. I know in my heart where they came from, as the dog was scratching hysterically in the crate as they took it off the plane. It happens, and I was/am willing to treat it at my own expense. What pushed me over the edge is how pushy the breeder is being about slamming my vet. That would be the same vet who took care of all the things that weren't on the med record that were supposed to be done by the breeder BEFORE we got our puppy. And then he has the nerve to suggest our vet is at fault. I'm just so disappointed that things have gone so badly with this guy. I guess I'm not much calmer this morning after all. Thanks again. |
| Definately contact the CKC. I cannot believe a breeder would ship a dog wothout having all of the paperwork completed and signed by both parties BEFORE sending the pup. When I myself am shipping a puppy, long before it is to go to its new home I send 2 copies of my contract signed by myself to the new owner, have them sign both, and return one copy to me for my records. This is also when I send the non-breeding agreement for them to sign so I can immediately register all the puppies. To me it is a huge risk to send a pup to its new home without a signed contract, and I will not ship until I have received all of the paperwork back.
Also just for your information, my new puppy owners all receive their registration papers roughly 2 weeks after they go to their new homes at 8 weeks of age. The turn around time at the CKC is very quick. You should definately have your registration papers by now, but you cannot complain to the CKC as they give breeders 6 months from the date of sale to provide registration papers to the new owner. I would however call the CKC and see if the litter has even been registered yet. |
| As do all of mine go home with their registration, their microchip, a health certificate from the vet with alltheir first (and sometimes 2nd) shots. All paperwork re:their litter from the time they are born......
you definately should contact CKC |
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